REVIEW: HOLE by Hannah Morrish at Old Red Lion Theatre 14 – 22 June 2024

‘The visual storytelling is highly entertaining.’ ★★★

In this new production of HOLE, a single-hander play written by Hannah Morrish and initially performed by herself in May 2021, the main character Hole is now being performed and produced by the Japanese/Canadian actor Matsume Kai. Few alterations to the original playtext were apparently made to accommodate the actor’s or director’s choices and the east Asian identity of the performer. The play otherwise is about a serious condition suffered by someone who finds themself eating much larger than usual amounts of food and subsequently going into regular fastings. She is hollow, she is hungry all the time, she receives help from her mother and her drama school teacher but things got worse and nothing seems to solve her problem of always feeling that there is a hole in her stomach.

One day a trapdoor literally appeared in her stomach and a young girl, known as The Child, hands her a key to open the door. The key is a perfect fit. Hole is invited to step into the unknown, inside herself and soon starts a quest for the leak, which she believes is the cause of her binge eating disorder.

Alice in Wonderland and Pan’s Labyrinth fantasy world styles influence the turn of events as Hole goes down the rabbit hole and deeper in the underworld. She meets elements of her own childhood and comes face to face with her perfect self and a monstrous creature that represents her own inner demons. The world of the fairytale with its caves and rivers is created ingeniously, under the direction of David Fairs and Conor O’Kane, by the use of three stackable square stools, a large amount of black fabric material, mannequin body parts and neon lights laid around the theatre, and a very commendable playlist of soundscape and special effect lighting. The visual storytelling is highly entertaining and is aided by the agility and physical theatre techniques of the actor. The 80 minutes drama play Hole would also have worked very well if it was presented in an audiobook version.

Photography: Charles Flint

HOLE by Hannah Morrish at Old Red Lion Theatre 14 – 22 June 2024

Box Office https://www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/hole.html

Director: David Fairs & Conor O’Kane

Performer: Matsume Kai

Reviewed by Melanie Lam